Weber Spirit E-310 Gas Grill

After owning a mediocre grill for many years, I finally purchased a good one... the Weber Spirit E-310 gas grill.

Recommended by America's Test Kitchen as the best gas grill for under $500 (check out the video here: https://youtu.be/mUPX-9zkMeA) I decided that larger wasn't necessarily better for the money.  I wanted a grill that could cook evenly throughout its grilling surface.  America's Test Kitchen's video convinced me that this grill would be the best.

Apparently Weber grills aren't discounted below a certain price from retailer to retailer, so my family and I decided to purchase the grill at Ace Hardware since they offered free assembly and delivery.  We went last Friday but found they did not deliver on the weekends.  Monday was Memorial Day, so we asked if they could deliver at 9 AM on Monday since we had a huge family party happening for lunch that day.  They said they could do it.

Sure enough,  precisely at 9 AM, the guys delivered the assembled grill!  I fired it up and grilled lots of burgers, hot dogs, brats, and kebobs for the party.  And just like the video said it would do, the grill performed perfectly!  I had the entire surface area of the grill covered with each type of entree and every time... no hot spots on the grill!  Each burger came out exactly the same as the other regardless of where that patty was located on the grill.  On my old grill, if I had the patties in the "sweet spot" where the heat was best, the other areas would not even cook at all!  You could expect the meat to be raw!  Not the case here.  Perfect grill marks on everything and nothing burnt!

After the burgers, I put on Hot Dogs, Brats and Kebobs and they all did the same thing.  Nothing burned and everything was evenly cooked with nice grill marks.  The grill grates are made with porcelain enameled cast iron so heat retention is very good.

High praises for this grill!  If you are in the market for a grill, consider the Weber Spirit E-310 grill.  While it is more expensive than most grills its size at $499 on sale, in my opinion, it's well worth it.

Five Guys Vs In-N-Out

How would I rate Five Guys Burger and Fries over In-N-Out Burger?

First, I'd consider taste... The In-N-Out to me is a bit tastier because it's greasier.  Some would say juicier.  But, the Five Guys has more toppings and condiment choices which are included in its price that adds tastes of its own. 

An In-N-Out Burger costs around $3.45 per Double Double (two patties, two slices of cheese).  The Little Cheese Burger from Five Guys is $4.59.  It's about the same size as the Double Double.  But you get only one patty and one slice of cheese.  However, you get a lot of condiments and toppings with the price of the Five Guys burger.

The fries are more costly at Five Guys but they give you a lot more.  It is also fried in peanut oil, which to me, makes it tastier.  There was supposed to be a secret menu like In-N-Out has, so I ordered their "Cheese Fries" (which was supposed to be a secret menu item).  I was told they didn't have Cheese Fries, just regular fries.  Disappointing!

In the end, the Five Guys cost more, has less meat and cheese but gives you more toppings and condiment choices for the money.  The In-N-Out burger is less expensive, greasier but tastier.

What's important to you?

Final Installment of the Tokio Pub Lunches

Once again, my daughter and I went to Tokio Pub to finish our $57 free vouchers!

We ordered the same things we had done in the past only this time, we got two of the Crazy Dragon Rolls and one Godzilla Roll.  We also added a Shrimp Crispy Rice (reminded us of Chinese Shrimp Toast).  To start out, we once again ordered the Barbecue-Braised Pork Nachos.  Click here to see their menu.

We didn't quite finish our $57, so our waitress suggested we get a couple of Bignet dessert balls that were made of chocolate.  In all, our total bill was $0.  We gave her a nice tip, of course!

Tokio Pub - Again

Went again to Tokio Pub today!  Got their Barbeque-Braised Pork Nachos again and two sushi rolls (Godzilla Roll and Crazy Dragon Roll) and Tempura Shrimp Buns.

This was part of the "free" deal described in my previous post.  I have one more $57 voucher to use, so back to Tokio Pub next week!  Images were taken with my Apple iPhone 6s+.

Tokio Pub's menu can be found here: http://bucket.tokiopub.com/wp-content/uploads/Main.pdf

Tokio Pub - For Lunch!

Back on January 15, my daughter, wife and I went to celebrate both my daughter and my birthday (we share the same birthday) at Tokio Pub in Schaumburg, IL.

The deal was to have your birthday party at the restaurant on the 15th of every month and get a coupon for each person in your party worth the same as your age!  For us, our birthdays happen to be on the 15th anyway!  Click here to read about their special.

I turned 57 this year, so I got a gift certificate for $57 for use next time.  And, my daughter got one for $57 and my wife got one for $57 as well!  What a deal!

Anyway, we ordered food in January but did not get to go back until lunch today.  My daughter and I used one of the coupons and it covered all of the food above!  We ordered the following:

1. Barbeque-Braised Pork Nachos
2. Godzilla Roll (Shrimp Tempura, Smoked Salmon, guacamole, eel sauce)
3. Two bowls (one for each person) of Grilled Steak in Soy - Ramen Broth
4. Rangoon Roll (tempura fried roll, spicy shrimp, cream cheese, scallion, chilli oil, sweet and sour sauce)

The Pork Nachos were really great.  We really liked it.  We also liked the Godzilla Roll, but my daughter ate all the Salmon off the rolls since I don't eat raw fish.  I just ate the rolls minus the fish on it.  By the time the two bowls of Grilled Steak in Soy- Ramen Broth came out, we were stuffed already!  We decided to take the rest of the food home instead.

The interesting thing about this restaurant is that nobody there was Asian!  Not the servers and not the patrons (except us).  Still, it wasn't bad.  It's Americanized fusion food really.  The restaurant is part of the "Lettuce Entertain You" restaurants, so I guess I wasn't so surprised that it wasn't real Asian food.  We still liked it.  It's a bit expensive for what it is, but trendy places are like that.

Check 'em out if you want something different and try going when there is a special like the birthday specials!

All images taken with an Apple iPhone 6s +

In-N-Out Burger

The Double Double is probably the most ordered burger from In-N-Out Burger.  I recall my uncle telling me how "juicy" they were.  But after ordering several of them recently on my trip to San Francisco, I couldn't help but notice that juicy really meant "greasy"!

The burgers are wrapped twice in paper, but look at the bottom photo of the inner wrapping.  Also look at the second photo and notice the sheen on the buns.  I'd call it a bit greasy.  What do you call it?

Still, the burgers are pretty tasty.  Compared to Five Guys burgers, the cost is more reasonable as well.  Which do you prefer?

2016 San Francisco - Fisherman's Wharf

I went to visit my mom and sister's family this week in San Francisco.

Lots of sights to see out there, but the easiest for me to get around with my scooter was Fisherman's Wharf.  Had to get some In-N-Out food, so I ordered a Double Double burger (two patties with two slices of cheese) and Animal Style Fries (Thousand Island, Grilled Onions and Cheese on Fries) and a drink.  Cost was $11.09 (yes, it was expensive, but you just got to do it when you are in California!)  I also ordered a cup of clam chowder at one of the street vendor's booth (got to do that too for $6 and tax). 

United States Seal - Lodge Cast Iron

My latest addition to my Cast Iron collection.  This one is destined to be the next "collector's item" because they sell out very quickly when available.

I got this one at the Cracker Barrel in Gurnee, IL. It's a 10.25" model and was "on sale" too! Couldn't pass it up at $17.24!  I've looked for a while to get one of these, but they were always sold out. But on a whim after going fishing in Racine, I stopped by to check on my way home and lo and behold, they had a couple of the 10.25" models in stock!  The 10.25" size seems to be very similar in size to my old #8 Blacklock skillet that was made between 1896 and 1910.

Sorry for the "fingerprints" on the cast iron.  I was too anxious to take the photos and so I did not re-season the skillet first.

Possible Blacklock 8 Skillet - 1896-1910

Back in 1896, Joseph Lodge assisted his friend and minister to open Blacklock Foundry.  While Lodge was not actively involved in the company in the beginning years of the company, he later helped out when the company was struggling.

In 1910, the Blacklock company burned to the ground, so Lodge later opened his own company just a few blocks away and called it Lodge Cast Iron Company.  Today, Lodge is the one of the only US companies still manufacturing cast iron skillets.  A new company called Finex has recently started making cast iron skillets as well, but Lodge is the oldest US company doing so.

This is the oldest skillet I currently own.  Based on the years of manufacturing, this makes the skillet anywhere from 104 to 118 years old as of the year 2014!

These are called "Possible Blacklock" skillets since very little is known about the company and its products since all their records burned up with the fire.  But based on similarities with Lodge skillets in its time period, we can assume that these cast iron skillets were from Blacklock.

Portable Butane Burner with No Notch Lodge #6 Skillet

I was reading about a discussion concerning getting a portable butane burner for outdoor use... so I got one!

Went to our local Asian stores and purchased the burner for $16.99. Four canisters of butane fuel were on sale for $3.99 for four! Great deal!

I have a side burner on my propane gas grill, but it's a hassle dragging the grill outside (we keep it in our garage for storage), so setting up this small burner will be much more convenient. Sometimes, we like to cook outdoors rather than inside our home to keep the smell of frying out of the home. This is a good solution.

The images were taken with a Nikon Df camera, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens and a Nikon SB-800 flash.

The cast iron skillet is an no notch Lodge #6 manufactured between 1910 and 1920!  It is somewhere from 94 to 104 years old!

Griswold #5 Skillet

This Griswold #5 cast iron skillet was manufactured somewhere between 1920 and 1940.  Yes, it's between 74 and 94 years old!

The old skillets are far better than skillets made today because of their smooth cooking surface and lighter weight.  Today's skillets tend to be more textured due to the new "pre-seasoning" techniques needing that texture to allow the oils to adhere properly.